IN OUR OPINION

Editorial: Hitting full stride again

Published: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at 10:51 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at 10:51 p.m.

Florida's thoroughbred industry is having quite a run in 2013, with virtually every indicator suggesting it has found its stride again after being slowed by the recession for the past half decade.

The latest good news for Florida thoroughbred breeders, announced last week, is that the state showed an increase in live foals for the second straight year. Florida was the only state to see a jump in foal production in both 2012 and 2013.

That news came on the heels of a passel of other positive information about the Florida horse industry, Ocala/Marion County in particular.

Legendary Ocala Stud, the longest continuously operating thoroughbred operation in Marion County, was named not only the Florida breeder of the year, but earlier this month was also named the national breeder of the year by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Ocala Stud is now moving into its third generation of management by the O'Farrell family.

Of course the truest measure of economic recovery is dollars and cents, and plenty of those poured into Ocala/Marion County this year during Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. trifecta of 2-year-old sales and its yearling sale later on.

The three 2-year-old sales held at OBS during the first half of the year brought in $92.4 million, a 34.5 percent increase over the 2012 total of $68.7 million. The August yearling auction, meanwhile, saw sales jump from $5.1 million in 2012 to $8.4 million this year, with both average and median sale prices setting records.

And if all that was not enough to make area breeders and owners feel better, a colt sold in the March 2-year-old sale fetched $1.8 million, tying the record for the highest price ever at an OBS sale.

Yes, the Florida thoroughbred industry is having a pretty good run this year — and that is good news not only for the industry but for our state and community as well.

The industry is currently conducting a statewide economic impact study, but a 2005 analysis by the state found that thoroughbred breeding had a $2.2 billion impact statewide and a $1.3 billion impact here in Ocala/Marion County, the Horse Capital of the World. The 700-plus horse farms in our county alone create more than 3,000 jobs, while statewide more than 20,000 jobs are generated by this industry.

Clearly the equine business is more than picturesque pasturelands and grazing horses we can see from the highway, although that is a bonus to the overall community.

Like so many other business sectors, it's been a long slog for the thoroughbred industry since the start of the Great Recession. But now there is every indication it is hitting its stride again, although industry insiders remain cautious about declaring the recovery complete.

That said, we like what Ocala Stud patriarch Mike O'Farrell told the Star-Banner's Bill Giauque after being named the nation's top breeder: "You keep at it, and sometimes good things happen."

Those words seem applicable to our community's signature industry, horses, because good things are happening everywhere we look.

<p>Florida's thoroughbred industry is having quite a run in 2013, with virtually every indicator suggesting it has found its stride again after being slowed by the recession for the past half decade.</p><p>The latest good news for Florida thoroughbred breeders, announced last week, is that the state showed an increase in live foals for the second straight year. Florida was the only state to see a jump in foal production in both 2012 and 2013.</p><p>That news came on the heels of a passel of other positive information about the Florida horse industry, Ocala/Marion County in particular.</p><p>Legendary Ocala Stud, the longest continuously operating thoroughbred operation in Marion County, was named not only the Florida breeder of the year, but earlier this month was also named the national breeder of the year by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Ocala Stud is now moving into its third generation of management by the O'Farrell family.</p><p>Of course the truest measure of economic recovery is dollars and cents, and plenty of those poured into Ocala/Marion County this year during Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. trifecta of 2-year-old sales and its yearling sale later on.</p><p>The three 2-year-old sales held at OBS during the first half of the year brought in $92.4 million, a 34.5 percent increase over the 2012 total of $68.7 million. The August yearling auction, meanwhile, saw sales jump from $5.1 million in 2012 to $8.4 million this year, with both average and median sale prices setting records.</p><p>And if all that was not enough to make area breeders and owners feel better, a colt sold in the March 2-year-old sale fetched $1.8 million, tying the record for the highest price ever at an OBS sale.</p><p>Yes, the Florida thoroughbred industry is having a pretty good run this year — and that is good news not only for the industry but for our state and community as well.</p><p>The industry is currently conducting a statewide economic impact study, but a 2005 analysis by the state found that thoroughbred breeding had a $2.2 billion impact statewide and a $1.3 billion impact here in Ocala/Marion County, the Horse Capital of the World. The 700-plus horse farms in our county alone create more than 3,000 jobs, while statewide more than 20,000 jobs are generated by this industry.</p><p>Clearly the equine business is more than picturesque pasturelands and grazing horses we can see from the highway, although that is a bonus to the overall community.</p><p>Like so many other business sectors, it's been a long slog for the thoroughbred industry since the start of the Great Recession. But now there is every indication it is hitting its stride again, although industry insiders remain cautious about declaring the recovery complete.</p><p>That said, we like what Ocala Stud patriarch Mike O'Farrell told the Star-Banner's Bill Giauque after being named the nation's top breeder: "You keep at it, and sometimes good things happen."</p><p>Those words seem applicable to our community's signature industry, horses, because good things are happening everywhere we look.</p>